Hey help my Leo she's my baby

[Leopard_gecko_freak]

Help with my leopard gecko please
Hi you guys!I'm a new member.Alright I have an 8 month old leopard gecko.U have to pictures on Flickr,if you would please check them out please.I'm pretty sure she is sick,hopefully not.Could you give me some syptoms of parasites in leopard geckos?How much should she be eating?In sorry this so long,I just really would like some answers.Thank you all so much.Email me please at [email protected].I will send updates!Here are the links below

http://www.flickr.com/photos/87399139@N08/7997484869/in/photostream

Also,

Sorry!
Sex-female
Age-8 months
Weight-unknown
How long have I owned-7 months
Obtained-Petco
Handle-almost every day
Acting-same as always
Problems so far-none
Fecal-brown portion,white and yellow portion,surrounded my some glaze looking stuff[has me worried]
last time went-3 days ago
Problem-I think she might have parasites.Tail is getting skinny.Has been going on for about 2 weeks
Size-20 gallon,got about a week ago
Type-glass
Substrate-reptile carpet
Hides-humid hide,cave, log .(getting more)
Heat source-heat lamp
Temps-80 warm,65 cool
Using to measure temps-reptile thermometer
Lights-yes,60 watt
Cage mates-none
Health problems before this-none
Typical diet-crickets,grasshoppers,mealies,once every 3 month waxworm,every five months a earth worm
How often-1 cricket 3 mealies every 2 days.Won't try to catch food and I can't buy crickets.NO pesticides used at my house or anywhere where I live
How I feed-mostly hand,mostly let her catch
Supplements-calci spray on food,every 3 days.
Brand-Zilla
Gut loading food-wild,potatoes,extra calcium cricket food

 

[sausage]

the only way to find out if your leo has parasites is to take a pooh sample to the vets for testing.

I can see a few problems with your husbandry that could cause a problem.

you MUST have a UTH (Under tank heater aka heat mat) as your gecko requires bely heat for maximum digestion. without this she would eventually loose weight over time.

you say earth worms, do you dig these up from the garden or buy them? buying is fine but garden worms could be carrying all sorts of things.

you should increase her calcium intake. she need calcium in her cat at all time and also dusted on to her food every few days. a calcium/vitamin dust with vitamin D3 should be used.

her picture looks okay, shes still pretty fat in the tail.

 

[Leopard_gecko_freak]

I heard and believe a UTH can make my geck bacon!I also don't have the money to take her to the vet. I really don't want her to die.

 

[ImNotYogi]

Control the heat from the UTH by using a dimmer that you plug the UTH into and adjust the heat accordingly. I got mine at Lowe's for about $10 then switched to a HydroFarm thermostat ($26 on Amazon). Part of her problem could be stress from moving to the 20gal tank. But definitely switch to a UTH and get a dimmer.

 

[sausage]

leopard geckos absorb heat through the thin skin of their bellies, unlike lizrds like bearded dragons.
you have more chance of a light cooking the gecko then the UTH, as the heater should only cover a max of 1/3 of the tank. this means the gecko can come sit on it and walk a away when its finished.
light bulbs in a confined space of a viv cook leos because their isnt a substantial heat gradient for thermoregulation.
most people place the heat mats to the underside of the tank with a few cm gap under for air flow. the other way is to place the mat inside the tank with tiles ontop.
the only thing you have to insure is that the gecko cant come into direct contact with the mat.

ask any one on this entire forum we all use UTH

I can also assure you that in most places a parasite check of faecal matter is not expensive.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I use under tank heaters with all my geckos - none have yet become bacon. As sausage said - belly heat is extremely important for them to digest their food properly. 80 degrees is way too cold. You need to get a warm spot in her tank up to close to 90. 90 should be the temperature of the floor - not of the air in the entire tank.

Vitamins and calcium are also important. I give all my geckos a soda cap with a half teaspoon or so of calcium in their tank at all times. This is so they can eat a bit more if they don't get enough from their food. I also dust my geckos food every meal.

I would assume your gecko is not 100% fat and healthy because of these husbandry issues. No one is going to be able to diagnose your gecko for parasites or other illnesses over the internet. Advice is all you can hope for. I might call around to some local vets and ask if they will do a fecal exam - if they're willing it should cost less than $30 and that is the only way to know if your gal has parasites.

Best of luck! Keep us posted.

 

[Leopard_gecko_freak]

Ok she's not doing any better.I will ask,but I reasearched and it says the gecko will not move even if it's getting fried

 

[sausage]

what do you mean shes not doing any better? its only been a few hours!

we can only try to help you but if youd rather believe one article on the internet then 100's of keepers and breeders on this site then i dont really know what else we can do for you.

no body on here would ever give you bad advice they wouldn't do them selfs, that could potentially harm your gecko.

 

[Ozy]

Ok. Here are some things to try. First off, the heat lamp. These do leopard geckos NO good. They need belly heat to digest their food and they do not like bright light AT ALL. You need to get an under tank heater and hook it up to a Lutron lamp dimmer from Lowe's or Home Depot. The FLOOR temp on the hot side should be 90-94, cool side in the upper 70s. If you are using Dial-type thermometers, throw them away because they are total junk. This is what I use to measure my temps http://www.petco.com/product/115362/...mometer-115362 You need to get the FLOOR temp, NOT the air temp, so point it like one inch from the floor. Also you are not supplementing her properly. Get some Repashy Superfoods Calcium Plus and dust every single insect she eats with it. Also, gutload crickets and mealworms with Fluker's High Calcium Cricket Diet and the gel water cubes. Repashy Superfoods bug burger, super load and hydro load are also really good for gutloading. Also, you are not feeding her enough. My leo is WAY less than 8 months old and can EASILY eat a dozen mealworms a day. Leave a dish of mealworms that are dusted with the Repashy in her cage. I also hand feed mine. When hand feeding, make sure everything is dusted and feed her until she decides she's had enough. Leos will stop eating when they aren't hungry anymore. ALWAYS leave a dish of dusted mealworms in the cage, so she can eat when she's hungry. HEAT ROCKS are what will fry your gecko, NOT an under tank heating pad.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

UTHs are different than hot rocks. Hot rocks are a big nono and there are quite a few stories about reptiles being turned into bacon on those. Is that what you're reading about?

UTH go on the outside of the bottom of your tank. Geckos don't come in direct contact with them and they will move if they get too hot. Thats' the purpose of having one side cool and one warm - so they can move and cool off or get warmer when they need to.

 

[Ozy]

+1 to the Doc. I promise if you get an under tank heat mat and have it at the proper temp your leo WILL move off it if she gets too hot. This is how they regulate their body temperature. Mine usually sleeps on the warm side, then wakes up and goes over to the cool side and starts her nightly rambling.

 

[Leopard_gecko_freak]

Getting a UTH.Whats a proper heat temperature,and can you adjust the heat?Also,she pooped finally,and all it was was a small yellow portion with no brown at all!Is that ok?One more thing.I finally got her to et one small cricket.It's the first thing she's eaten in a week!Also,she always,and I mean always,misses her food.Is this normal?Thanks and sorry this is so long

 

[SC Geckos]

Getting a UTH.Whats a proper heat temperature,and can you adjust the heat?

The UTH should be regulated by a thermostat. It should be set so that the floor above the UTH is between 90 -93 (give or take a degree) Without something to regulate its temp, some UTH's can reach over 120 degrees.

Also,she pooped finally,and all it was was a small yellow portion with no brown at all!Is that ok?One more thing.I finally got her to et one small cricket.It's the first thing she's eaten in a week!

It is most likely urates. If the gecko has not eaten in over a week there will be no "brown"

 

[Ozy]

You can use a thermostat or go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get a Lutron Lamp Dimmer for around 10 bucks. I use the lamp dimmer on my UTH.

 

[Leopard_gecko_freak]

I know this is wierd,but could you give a picture of your gecko and his/her UTH???Thanks!

 

[katie_]

I know this is wierd,but could you give a picture of your gecko and his/her UTH???Thanks!

Just search one in the search function

 

[Leopard_gecko_freak]

I'm sitting in my room crying.She won't even touh her food.She turns it away,and only ate 1 cricket 2 days ago.I'm also a bad owner in my eyes.I have NO money at all,and my parents don't even care.Don't tell me to talk to them,they won't listen.She won't move unless I gently pick her up.I haven't seen her drink.If she dies.....…I will lose it.Please please help me!!!!

 

[DrCarrotTail]

Not sure there is much help that anyone can give other than advice over the internet.

Post a picture so people can see her condition and tank. A picture should help people gauge whether she is really thin and sick or possibly just not hungry for a few days. If she is a decent size not eating for a week or two isn't s huge deal. If she is young and skinny already it could be something to worry about.

 

[Ozy]

First pic is the heat mat on the bottom of my viv. It was REALLY hard to get a good pic, try pulling a 20 gallon long full of sand and slate tiles and all the hides and crap half off the stand and holding it while you TRY to get a pic of the bottom. LOL. Rest of the pics are of my silly girl Ozy, taken just a few minutes ago.

 

[Ozy]

Sorry the first pic of her is kind of blurry because she saw the camera and was like OO! Picture time?!?! And got all hyper. lol